A regional economic summit in Pakistan has concluded with 10 nations
pledging to collectively fight the "challenge of terrorism" and push for greater
collaboration on trade, energy, and infrastructure. Islamabad hosted the daylong
Economic Cooperation Organization summit on March 1.

Leaders of the ECO countries post for a group photo at the summit

"There has never been a more opportune time to realize our dreams of
connectivity for regional prosperity," said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif.

"We are determined to collectively face challenges such as extremism, terrorism,
and drug trafficking in order to realize our vision of making the region a zone
of peace and prosperity," he said. "We have committed ourselves to working
together for bringing progressive change to the lives of the people in our
region, transforming it into a bastion of peace, progress, and prosperity."